Not the Offer She Wanted
by Nameless She
Summary: Jareth and Sarah on the subway. Drabble.


There were three things Sarah hated about the subway and they were all staring her dead in the face.

"Come now, Sarah, why the long face?"

His royal pain-in-her-ass, despite his flair for all things glittery, had developed a peculiar attachment to Sarah's ride home. If she was on it, he was on it. Irritatingly invisible as well; she was getting sick of the fearful glances of the other passengers when she answered a question they couldn't hear.

"Go away."

She tried to whisper without moving her lips but only succeeded in spraying the window with spittle.

"Do you know what I find so enchanting about this marvelous contraption?"

A predatory smile stretched across his face. She wished he had the decency to look uninviting now and then, but every time he appeared, he looked every bit the flawless, ageless beauty that kept her unhappily single.

She tried to ignore him. Lord knows she did, but he huffed a little. Pouting most definitely suited him.

"I said, do you know what I find---"

"Fine, what is it?"

"What I find so enchanting about public transportation is that it's for the public," he said, "Thus, my dear, I am perfectly within my rights to ignore your ridiculous request. It is so lovely to see you, after all."

The second reason she hated the subway peeked out from under the seat opposite Sarah. No matter what line she picked, one or two or half a dozen goblins of varying size, shapes and degrees of intelligence could be seen fiddling with bits of machinery and biting appendages that lingered too long in their general direction.

The one across from her gnawed on a Gucci handbag, its wide eyes deceptively innocent. For the last three weeks, she'd been seriously considering buying some mace.

"Now, where was I?" Jareth asked, pretending to search his memory.

"You were just leaving."

He chuckled, and the lights flickered. For a second, it was pitch black and she was alone in blissful silence. When the the subway car brightened, the feeling was shattered by the third reason she hated taking the subway.

Rather than the view of a dull, dreary tunnel wall, Sarah could see the familiar castle walls, the hedge maze, and the brilliant sunset. Thanks to Jareth's magic, the other passengers had vanished leaving her alone with him. Again.

"Have you reconsidered my offer?"

With a flick of his wrist, the contract appeared.

"The answer is still no," she said, "And if I have to rip it up and force feed it to you to get the point across, I will."

He made another disappointed sound, but leaned forward, one hand dangerously close to her face. Before she could shift, he smoothed the hair back behind her ear.

"What are you---"

When he pulled his hand back, he was holding a feathered quill.

"You can't sign without a pen, darling," he said, "And blood just won't do on a legal document."

"Not even if it's yours?"

"Come, now Sarah, we both know this is for the best," he said, "Do you know how many ladies would give their first born for this opportunity? Don't defy me!"

He tried to pass the quill. Good lord, what did it take to get through to him? He knew she wouldn't say yes to an offer like that; she was a professional business woman. She loved her job, her car, her house, her goldfish, and just because he swooped in, decades later with what he thought was a better offer, it didn't mean she was going to accept.

"No, Jareth, the answer is still no," she said, "It will always be no."

He flicked his wrist; both contract and quill vanished. The lights flickered and once again, the subway car was barreling down the tunnel with a full load of sleepy eyed passengers.

"Very well," he said, "We shall wait until tomorrow. Perhaps your disposition will have changed."

He faded, sending her one last haggard look in a last ditch effort to manipulate her. It was no use; she'd made up her mind the first time he presented her with that ridiculous scrap of paper. Sarah Williams had a perfectly lovely job in a perfectly lovely office, and she was slowly but surely working her way up the corporate ladder; she didn't have time for mopping up bog water.

Jareth would just have to find someone else to be the janitor in the land of stench.


End file.
